YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WYTV) – Incumbent Senator Robert Portman (R) and former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D), the top two contenders for the U.S. Senate, faced off in a debate Thursday night in Cleveland.

The first question had to do with the presidential election and many voters’ dissatisfaction with their options.

Strickland said Donald Trump is “unfit” to be president and that Hillary Clinton has the answers to the people’s problems.

Portman said that while Strickland claims Trump is “unfit” because of his demeanor and the things he’s said, the former governor doesn’t condemn Hillary Clinton for calling Trump supporters “deplorable.”

“I have consistently stood up when I thought something was said that was wrong. My opponent hasn’t done that, by the way,” Portman said. “I believe that words matter. Words mattered so much, I took the extraordinary step not to be able to support my Republican nominee for president.”

Even so, Strickland thinks Portman was too late in denouncing Trump.

“It wasn’t until it was in his political calculation to try to disassociate himself, that at the last minute shortly before this election, he said, ‘Well, I can’t vote for Donald Trump.'”

They also discussed the heroin epidemic and whether the federal government should play a role in finding solutions. Both agreed that it should.

Portman said he’s “taken the lead” by writing legislation to cover things like prevention, treatment and recovery. The senator claimed he convinced fellow lawmakers to see the epidemic as an emergency that needs funding.

Yet according to Strickland, Portman did not support providing those resources in the past, saying he “didn’t have the courage to cast a vote.”